The end of the Second World War did not bring an end to conflict. There has been fighting somewhere in the world almost every day since 1945.

Post-war divisions between east and western Europe led to a prolonged Cold War. The development of the nuclear bomb precipitated a nuclear arms race, with both sides possessing the means to destroy the world. The collapse of Communism in Europe, marked by the pulling down of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the break-up of the Soviet Union, ended the Cold War and diminished the threat of nuclear war in the west.

China, North Korea and North Vietnam came under communist control and communists in Malaya made a bid for power. Some of the largest and longest post-war conflicts followed. America led the fight against communism, but British and Commonwealth

Forces fought in Korea, Malaya and Indonesia, and Australian and New Zealand forces fought alongside the Americans and South Vietnamese in the Vietnam war.
In Africa the granting of independence to former colonies was often accompanied or followed by fighting and civil war. Famine and disease among the many refugees was a major cause of loss of life.

Disagreements over territory and access to oil fields have led to conflict in the Middle East. Britain's political influence in this region declined after the Suez Crisis of 1956. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in 1990 was countered by the formation of a multinational Coalition force. During the Gulf Conflict Britain made a major contribution with the largest deployment of its forces on active service since the Second World War.

Britain's armed forces have undergone major changes since 1945. Britain's membership of NATO, together with advances in technology, have resulted in a smaller but better equipped force able to deal with a wide variety of tasks. Unexpected crises such as the Argentine invasion of the Falklands in 1982 required a rapid military response from Britain. Longer term deployments of British forces have included support for the Royal Ulster Constabulary during the troubles in Northern Ireland and, increasingly, a peacekeeping role with the United Nations in places such as Bosnia.